Clive Burr, primul baterist al formației Iron Maiden, a răposat în noaptea de 12/13 martie 2013, în timpul somnului. Deși în 1994 a fost diagnosticat cu scleroză multiplă, ceea ce l-a împiedicat să mai cânte („«I kept dropping things,» Burr told Classic Rock Magazine in 2011. «I couldn’t grip properly. I could barely keep hold of my sticks.», menționează Billboard), se pare că și-a păstrat simțul umorului, după cum scrie solistul Bruce Dickinson în mesajul publicat în siteul formației: „«I first met Clive when he was leaving Samson and joining Iron Maiden,» he said. «He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full. Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence. This is a terribly sad day and all our thoughts are with Mimi and the family.»”
Tot în același site mai scrie: „We are deeply saddened to report that Clive Burr passed away last night. He had suffered poor health for many years after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and died peacefully in his sleep at home.
Steve Harris said «This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time.»
As Maiden fans all know, Clive joined Maiden in 1979 and performed on the first three albums Iron Maiden (1980), Killers (1981) and The Number Of The Beast (1982). Prior to that he was a member of Samson, the band Bruce fronted before he too joined Maiden.”
Burr a părăsit Maiden în 1982 din cauza programului unui turneu și a unor probleme personale. El a făcut roc(k)ada cu Nicko McBrain, care era baterist la grupul francez Trust. De-a lungul carierei a fost o scurtă perioadă în formația Alcatraz și a avut propria formație, Clive Burr’s Escape, devenită ulterior Stratus.
În 2005 și-a donat setul de tobe albe cu autograf la Hard Rock Cafe din Londra.
În Wikipedia se mai menționează că: „Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson considered Burr to be «…the best drummer the band ever had. That’s not taking anything away from [present drummer] Nicko. Technically, Nicko’s probably a far more competent drummer than Clive. It’s just that Clive had this incredible feel, and you can’t learn that, and I regret that he wasn’t given more time to try and sort himself out.» Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith also praised Burr’s drumming ability. «Clive was a great drummer, an Ian Paice-type drummer, steady and solid with a nice feel to everything.»"
Formația a făcut și mai multe concerte de caritate ca să strângă bani pentru Clive Burr MS Trust Fund pentru a-l ajuta cu tratamentul medical. Clive avea și Clive Aid, o organizație care strângea fonduri pentru diverse programe dedicate cancerului și sclerozei multiple.
Cilve Burr a fost născut în 8 martie 1957.
Florin Silea
sursă foto: last.fm
